Darkly Dreaming
by Foxberry
Summary: A premonition clouds the thoughts of two young force sensitive chiss women; leaving them with a sense of dread and foreboding. SWTOR universe.


The room on deep space station 698-B was dim. The lights throughout the station were burning at a low level. It was an unmanned relay station tonight held its first guests for generations. Even the droids slept soundly in their maintenance pods, unrequired for decades as the station ran without interference from outside hands. There was a single ship docked on the small station, rotating silently in space. The silver ship was a familiar site to Nal but it felt distinctly alien, though identical it was somehow not her home and that was obvious. It sat there attached like a shiny scalpel in the gloved hand of the station.

The station itself was circled in cramped hallways and massive rooms with machines. The lights flickered weakly except the row leading onward through a labyrinth of pitch corridors to that pale room. The force here felt distant like a whisper heard from afar. Words you could almost make out but never fully understand. Here they would feel alone in the loneliest part of the galaxy.

She had seen the dagger through the view screen… a silver blade, familiar but… foreign. It was the blade of an assassin, but like all assassins the knife was never the same. Crimson hues narrowed bitterly as she gazed with an unrelenting coldness that wreathed her like a Csillan breeze. Cold, calculating, and filled with a lust for revenge. She was no longer the Valkyrie she claimed to be once. No, all the codes that she coveted were stripped from her… And what remained was Sonata, completely, fully… Sonata.

No code. No honor. Just a cold emotionless that seeped through her veins as a deadly poison. Docking her own ship neatly near her intended target, she knew they were walking into a trap. It didn't matter, as long as she found the one she sought- protected her… The ends never mattered. She tred silently, stepping with careful precision as she moved down the corridor from the attached phantom. Thoughts of anything else… Left abandoned as she approached a doorway, the dim light emanating from it.

Following closely behind Nal; Enoch had his blaster drawn in both hands. He was in his full Mandalorian armor. Something he hadn't worn in some time. It didn't fit him quite as it once had but still he moved like a jaguar. Slipping through the dimly lit station he moved with Nal as silent as the space around the station. The lights were dim but once the eyes adjusted they were bright enough to make out their immediate surroundings when their eyes adjusted. As they walked through the ship a strange noise seemed to emanate from all around them like a chitter-chatter or a clicking but as Enoch turned there was nothing in his view but darkness. Even pulling out his flashlight revealed nothing but more darkness as the corridors ran no more than a few dozen feet before turning into yet more corridors as the last one.

Looking ahead there was the pale light of a room. The door was open and lights streamed through a grating in the roof. Alone in the room sat a figure shackled to a metal chair hanging limply forward unconscious. The figure was all too familiar. A shape they both would know even in their state but there was no presence that could be felt that a force user might feel. But then again even each other felt as unknowable through the force as if they simply weren't there. Here the force was blind… here the force was gone.

As Enoch approached the door he held his blaster up and swept the room with it. There was a door at the other end and he could see now that the light from above wasn't just a light but a ray-shield encircling the unconscious Chiss with her scarred complexion and her silver hair draped across her features. Looking over at Nal he was unsure of what they were walking into but he didn't like it. Looking at her he had to nod… like it though; he didn't… there was nothing to suggest anything but an empty room.

Cold. Dead. She hated the feeling, despite feeling an overwhelming nothingness. She had felt it as soon as she stepped onto the ship. The force fled from her; it felt familiar like the Dead Planet of the Nemesis. Her weight shifted, slightly staggered; the protocols flickered in her mind- buzzing dimly there. The Force escaped her, and an ill feeling spilled through her gut. A gloved hand absently brushed along the saber hilt at her side… She knew that the color would be weak; as the lack of force would even bleed it dry. However this was not the time to dwell on it. She had backup weaponry, the rifle on her shoulder was apparent of that.

As she stalked, a slight glance had been given toward the beskar'gam figure beside her. He always looked formidable within it; her warrior. Slowly blinking beneath the sleek helm of her own form, she quickened her pace. The strange sounds around her only unnerved the woman further as she continued down the hall… But what struck her immediately was the small form slumped upon the chair before them.

_"Aka…"_

The name left her innately and it took everything in her not to run in like a bat out of hell. Instead she allowed Enoch to sweep the scene, while her own attention flitted about. Finally he seemed to relax if only a bit… And Nal bolted. Fleet footed steps drew her toward the figure upon the chair. Shouldering the rifle she quickly dropped before her sister. A delicate hand extended innately toward the figure beyond the rayshield.

_"K'sicen'i… I'm here."_ She whispered.  
_"Wait!"_ Enoch yelled, but it was too late.

Enoch threw up his free hand from the gun, toward her. Nal, however was already reaching out. The ray shielding sparked on contact causing Nal's hand to jerk back with a shock and the rotating shield vibrated violently before simmering down. With this there was a thump. AS Enoch turned and almost fired he realized the door they came in had closed like the trap around them.

A seething hiss suddenly left the young agent as the voltage tore through her. _"Ktah…"_ She should have known better than to just rush in. Snapping her hand back she stared on the scene with a look of abject horror; the door behind them snapping shut- locking them within. She knew it had been a trap when she had first arrived or rather they had known beforehand.

From the corner of the room a figure stood quietly. Had he come from some secret passage or had he been there all along? It was hard to say but he was unquestionably there now;

_"I wouldn't do that If I were you.. Too many shocks like that and your hand will go numb for hours…"_ he said in a swarve imperial accent, _"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance in person though. You've proven most elusive"_ He continued; walking calmly around behind Aka seemingly unarmed.

Nal's helmeted head suddenly snapped at the sound of a soft voice. Focusing upon the source she cringed and slowly stood to her full height. Her hand still tingled with the sensation of the shield's backlash. Her opposite hand shifted innately toward the haft of her weapon.

_"Asking you to politely release her isn't going to be met with agreement."_ She stated in her own cold, imperial lit. _"So how do we play this game… agent."_

_"I'm so glad that I can deal with a professional for a change."_ The agent declared calmly clasping his hands together.

His eyes were gone; with nothing but two round metallic discs in the shade of obsidian where his eyes would have been.

_"So often,"_ he continued, _"I have to listen to their attempts to bribe me… promises to disappear or to defect. I listen to the pleading and the raging and the moaning" he lamented, "How about you tell me how such a perfectly good agent like yourself… one who was once.. and I quote from your file, "The shining star of program" go to literally walking into this trap?" _he asked.

_"Was it for this?"_ he said gesturing to Niaka, _"Is it sisterly love that brought you here to the loneliest place in the galaxy so far from anyone's home?" he asked, "Or was it for a fiery vengeance that burned in your gut for all the pain that has been caused to you? Was my face the personification of all the wrongs you have suffered at the fate of the empire? Did you want closure?"_ he inquired almost condescendingly.

_"I am… What I am…"_ The helmed figure whispered. Her calculating gaze beneath the black-bug-like helm narrowed to bare slits. _"Did you expect any less? You've said that you read my file… Why… Don't you tell me?"_

…Keeper, her Keeper would have never betrayed her; not like this… This man had found her weaknesses somehow. Regardless of how he found her; he had… And he was most likely, not inclined to inform her of the how; just as Nal was not inclined to give him the answer that he sought. Her weight shifted and the slim form began to carefully pace before the figure of her sister and the agent that now spoke tauntingly.

_"I assure you however, I am not here because your face is some sort of personification for the Empire… I_ _care little if it is you or another, the fate would remain the same."_ She whispered. _"I am not here for -you-."  
"Then it is for the sister, yes?"  
"It is for many reasons."_

_"It's amazing that you've come all this way and fought so hard for someone that spent more time in a laboratory than outside of it. Mothballed or put on the back burner if it will.., for so long… What a waste. But if there is anything your little… coup has shown was to the Sith Lord who's pet project it was how sharp his tools really were."_

_"You know I cannot let you leave here alive… You speak on how sharp his tools were… I'll prove that point to the fullest… But I'll also prove unto you that I am not -his- tool any longer and have not been since I foolishly signed in blood." Nal quipped back._

Her gaze fixed upon the cybernetic agent that paced as well beyond the barrier that surrounded the tiny figure of her sister upon the chair. She couldn't tell whether or not her sibling had already been silenced, fallen victim… The lack of force prevented her from sensing, preventing her from knowing. Her breath left her in quiet rasps as she mirrored the motions of the hairless agent that prattled on.

_"That is why he employed me. I am the best at what I do."_ he started, _"And I assure you that it's no exaggeration. She was quite the thing to subdue… So much so I almost damaged her and that would be blight on my reputation." he stated sounding disappointed in himself._

_"Such a shame that you didn't taint your own name- it would have ruined you."_ She bit back sharply.

_"I can see why you were listed expendable though. I mean no insult. I personally hold you in the upmost respect. It took me some time and considerable finance to make this happen. But your sister… you are not." _he said.

_"She is quite the specimen and like many of those things that you don't realize are so precious till they're gone such was the feelings of our gracious benefactor. He was to begin work immediately on dissecting your sister and discovering the true source of her greatness. I dare say he may have been speaking metaphorically but somehow I don't think he was."_ He ventured.

_"You don't seem to understand; she is not what you claim her to be… The conditioning was a failure. She is anything but what you say; and you underestimate me, agent. I am the dagger, the firewall; she is the infiltrator."_ She whispered in return.

_"I in some ways wish for her sake that you had arrived in time. I would rather see a beautiful vista bombarded than to have such a life snuffed out…. but sadly this is the price we pay for progress."_ He mused as he paced behind the limp body of the chiss woman. Enoch stood silently at the back of the room, blaster trained on the agent following him back and forth across the room as Nal faced off with the man.

A slight confused look settled upon Nal's hidden features. _"I do not… Understand… Arrived in time… To… Prevent what…?" _She murmured her body tensing even more, her muscles coiling ready to tear through the damnable creature.

_"To prevent your downfall…"_ He answered, _"To prevent your sisters… to turn the tides in this whole affair and to come out of this a hero instead of a memory. This station I have prepared just for you… Think of it like an elaborate tomb."_

_"My… Downfall…"_ She whispered, repeating softly. _"My downfall is… of little consequence… Her's… Is another matter… I will fight, till the end… I will tear you apart, and I will take her from this place… And neither you, nor your Empire will ever be able to take her from me again… You know I had to come for her… You know that I had to protect her, it is my task, it is within my conditioning."_ Nal whispered in turn.

Her movements guided her back and forth. Her hand brushed along the hilt of her lightsaber, delicately running against its length. She thought of her former master… Thought of Lakin, would he be proud of her? …Doubtful. She had left without telling him… without informing her friends, her family… The Marran. And now; in the loneliness of space it was only herself, Enoch, this nameless agent… And Aka. Or so she believed as he continued to prattle.

_" I regret that it is such an ugly place to see your end but I had to spend much of my time far from here on Myrkr."_ The agent began.  
_"You see, Myrkr is a fairly unremarkable planet but it is home to a very special breed of creatures called Ysalamir… Have you heard of them?"  
"Ysalamir…"_ She echoed and shook her head delicately.

_"They're a funny little creature that commendably nullify the force… I'm not sure the biology of it to be honest but they're quite effective. And it's good that they are; as without them you no doubt would have reduced this station to debris before you docked. They have been placed all through the station in areas hidden within shadows… It was crucial as otherwise you would have felt your sister or… not… felt your sister as the case may be…"_

Holding out his hand the agent touches a small, thin, remote and the image of Niaka flickers out like television turning off. Nal's eyes narrowed and she took a step off her paced-path toward him as he reached for something… But suddenly the figure of her sister, blipped out and a choked breath left her.

_"A…Aka! K'sicen'i!"_ She screamed, her voice echoing within her helm, within the air around her.

_"It also took some time to install the holographic suite… It's not a place that one can just call up a holonet repairman to come and install… and now you realize that you are here… far from the embrace of your republic… from the protection that the empire once offered you… all because of your misguided ideas of freedom… and so I came here to grant to you the logical conclusion to that freedom.." _he said,

_"Where is she!?"_ Of course he probably would not tell her.

_"There are some who believe in reincarnation… I sincerely wish that to be true… you are for your failings a remarkable woman… and your protector guards you still with the love only a devoted lover can… perhaps… after your rebirth you will find a peace far from here… somewhere beyond the stars"_ the agent stated almost sadly.

With that her hand snatched the saber from her side; a dim snap-hiss could be heard as she ignited the blade. The typical brilliant red color of the double-bladed now dimmed; flared out from each side of the hilt. _"Where is she…?"_ She whispered again, her voice rasping as she quickly flicked the blades' hilt, disengaging the single double-bladed into a pair of shorter light-sabers. Grasping both between her hands she winced… oppression… the weight of it all upon her from the lack of force all around.

_"Please…"_ he said holding out his hand gently,

_"You know… I cannot leave here without an answer…"_ She whispered fixing her gaze upon him.

_"There's really no need for this… You should spend your last moments together… I know you came for your sister but with our force nullifying friends you cannot realize that she isn't here… I would not risk one objective to secure another… Your sister has already been delivered to our benefactor some two days past. From the look of the security and the medical teams I would not wager that she will be making an escape any time soon."_ he said quietly.

_"Tell me… Where… She is…"_ Nal whispered each word with a deadly precision, each word leaving her like a blade-edge. _"I swear it… I will make you regret ever touching her… I-"_

Her voice wavered, as she continued- something seemed off… Or perhaps it was always off but she never realized it. Maybe it was the ysalamir or maybe it was something else entirely… But a sudden sense of dread began to wash over her as he begun to speak of her sister's fate… She had been removed from the facility two days earlier- somewhere far removed… Somewhere she could not reach… Somewhere… That she couldn't even sense. The sensation was deadening… Even through the soft hum of her dampened blades.

_"My glorious foe… your concern is no longer for her… take time to spend with your companion, tell him of the love you share and hold each other as you slip from the world…"_

_"I… No!"_ Nal suddenly snarled but the weakness was there…

Something she began to realize was weighing her down more than just the lack of the force. And as the agent began to reveal the situation, reveal the grand scheme of it all… She could feel her knees buckle, her weight shifting.

_"By now the neurotoxin from the ventilation system that has been seeping in since the door closed has long since been coursing through your veins."_

_"Toxin…"_ She whispered, but how!? The helms… The interior weaving to prevent- she stopped… No; while maybe Enoch could escape it… She couldn't. She didn't have an enviro-suit, as she peered down upon the dark robes that graced her frame… The robes that were gifted to her… She could almost feel the poisons leaching into them.

_"I'm truly sorry that it has come to this but have little doubt though the galaxy will not remember your names you will be in my memories till I leave this world to join you." he said, "Good bye my worthy foe."_

_"No… No please… Please no… Please… Please don't take her from me… Don't let it end like this… Please…" _Her voice became tiny as the sabers fell to the ground softly clattering within the isolation. _"No please…"_ She quietly whispered, her voice choking in the back of her throat.

And with that the image of the agent flickered and died in front of them leaving them alone in a metal box filled with a gas that had long since killed them. Nal stood aghast with realization. For a long few moments she just stood there staring. Enoch spun around trying the door but it was too late. Even if he could get the reinforced metal open it was too late. Looking back at Nal she would feel the terror on his eyes even behind the faceless helmet. He knew that this was his end… Dying with the woman he failed to protect, billions of miles from anyone that mattered.

Looking at Nal he heard her whisper, _"No please…"_ and he turned to bang on the door loudly and fruitlessly. It thumped loudly but gave not even a ring of steel as he thumped it. It was reinforced beyond any penetration with a blaster let alone a fist but it was when Nal quietly said that it was alright he turned back to her with terror in his eye behind his helmet. He knew he couldn't save them and that they would die as they lived, alone but together.

_"…It's… It's alright Enoch…"_ She whispered as she turned her gaze over her shoulder toward him. A hand reaching up removed her helm, the oxygen hissed free from it as she dropped it to the floor. Sable strands fluttering down, free from the confines of the sleek helm. _"It's alright…"_ She repeated

Nal watched him frightfully attack the door for several more moments. Her eyes closed for a second before opening them again, the glowing hues settling upon him. Dark strands shielding her features slightly. _"Ch'eo ch'etecerci… My warrior…"_ She whispered and slowly moved toward him. Her hand extended, held gently toward him. _"Come here…"_

With her special words that she used only for him his terror left him like a flame extinguished but in its place was a cold sadness and tears welled in his eyes as he watched her remove her mask. This was the end for them and he knew that now. He had failed to save the woman he loved and her sister she cared about so dearly. They would never see the planets beyond the conflict and they would never know the bliss of peace except in the lands beyond the veil of death but he hoped that when they reached that place she would know he still loved her; an eternal love that death could never take.

Delicate fingers held aloft toward him as she dropped her headpiece free from her opposite hand. The soft hum of the sabers had clicked off as they fell, extinguishing within the force-dead air. It terrified her more than dying, she realized… to not feel his presence, despite being there before her. Perhaps it was more of the fact that she had felt him 'die' the moment they stepped onto the ship… and had grown to accept their fate. Or maybe it was something else entirely… Regardless as she stood there, hand outreached… She could only accept what would befall her and her warrior.

He reached up with his hands he touched the side of his helmet and slowly removed it from his head with grace and he looked at her silently with tear stained cheeks. As he reached toward his own helm however a choked breath left the chiss.

_"Nao… Keep it… You… You can still…"_ She trailed off; but it was too late as he removed it- even if there was an enviro-suit that could possibly protect him… She knew that he would take such a course anyway… That he would see her through. "Enoch…" She whispered the name; it left her in a painful ache. _"Ch'eo ch'etecerci…"_

He met her embrace and held her to him, clinging to whatever life they had left. He would not waste those last moments on anger or despair though he could feel the weakness taking him already as the neurotoxin coursed through his veins and started killing his brain. His energy levels were the first to go but he knew the rest would follow soon. He would stand with her as long as he could then sit with her til the end and he would have her know before she's gone how much he loves her and when his last breath escaped him he would whisper her name. Nal's weight shifted as he pulled her to him. Her tiny frame quivering within his hold, either from the toxin or fear, was uncertain. But even the fear would soon bleed from her, she would face this… As a Jedi… As the knight she was.

Holding her gently Enoch savored her smell one last time and caressed her hair as he held her close, _"I love you my dear Nal… My beautiful love… You made me a better man… Without you I'd have been long gone already… but because of you I can go as something more than a dog of war that I was… Thank you"_ he said quietly as he held her close feeling her warmth even though their armor, feeling her love despite the lizards that blocked the force… he didn't need it to feel her beating in his heart, _"I love you"_ he whispered again.

As she sank into his embrace, pressing close, drawing what warmth there was left; she quietly spoke to him. _"Ch'ah ch'acah ven… I love you too… I love you so much…" She whispered back. "I love you my warrior, my partner, my mate, my love… I cannot say that I was what made you better, but I cherish the thought that I played at least… Some tiny part within your life… To be… Gifted such a thing… I know I have… Never been so affectionate, so forward… But I want… No… Need you to know… That without you; I would… Be nothing more than a weapon… I would be nothing more than a dagger… But you breathed life into me when no one else could… You were… You are always there for me no matter what… You never gave up on me… When so many others had… My precious, sweet warrior…"_ She trailed off_._

_ "…I love you." _The chiss repeated softly. Even now she could feel the toxins sapping her strength. Her body wavered but she forced herself to remain standing. Glowing crimson hues seemed to burn brighter than any red dwarf within the oxygen rich air. _"Ver ch'en… Kiss me."_She softly whispered, feeling tears welling along the bottom lids. _"…Before we sleep…"_

Holding her gently the hunter moved back from her embrace only slightly. Enough that he could look into her eyes, those bright red eyes that bespoke love in a way that words never could no matter what the language. He gazed for a moment, a long precious moment and he heard his helmet clatter to the floor as he moved in and placed his lips on hers gently. It was the kiss of an uncounted many that they had shared since he met her but none felt as sweet as this. None took him so far from his pain as he embraced her love. For that moment they were as one and he felt her warmth crossing with his and her love, alive like a tangible thing grossing the connection between them. To him they were not what they were, killers for hire, traitors to their realm or pawns in a political game… they were love personified. They were a happiness they never knew in life before now.

This moment for him was like no other. Nothing else separated them anymore. Not politics, profession, race or creed. They were free and they were together. The agent who took so much ironically gave them something they may never have had otherwise; a chance to spend the end together. They would not die far from each other. Neither would receive the cold news that they dreaded each day they were apart. Though they were to die, it would be as if nothing else mattered… they were beyond that now… alone in a universe by themselves just them and their love united.

Swallowing lightly, the assassin… No, knight; fixed her gaze with his for those few moments. She was unable to look away even if she desired to. These moments… Were theirs. So few their moments of just… Them professing; and they were theirs alone. There was no need for words or for anything else within that wide galaxy for Nal. She stood, captivated with him as she had times before- but even as she felt the life drain away; she would hold this moment dear… From this life to the next wherever it took them; their paths would never truly be apart. As she lost herself within the warmth of his gaze, hues slid half-lidded as he leaned in to claim her lips.

Her weakening body still held strong, as if she drew from the love that she whispered unto him. A shaky hand extended, rested upon his cheek- the other clinging tightly about him. But even the hold was starting to slip away. Sweetly, yet passionately she returned the kiss, not wanting to let go… To never let go of what they shared. Her body wavered again; the inability to purge the toxins and the extensive alterations to her body that normally would have kept her strong… Was more of a fallible thing as the end was drawing near. Fragile. Though the kiss was that of heat, of flame, it too would soon burn out just as her aura would burn out and return to the Force.

Holding her close he broke away from the kiss so gently. _"I.. have to sit down Nal.."_ he said at last.

She nearly stumbled as the kiss broke away, and a soft seething note left her in defiance of it. Even through acception there was this spark of light that still fought. However, how far could they run? She knew the answer to that and her gaze softened as he confided within her. She gave a delicate nod of her head as she felt the fog starting to cloud her. _"I… I know." _She whispered, her voice sounding distant as she spoke; she found it odd how she couldn't recognize it…

_"My armor is… so heavy… It feels like stone… Will you sit with me and let me hold you in my arms till we go?"_ he asked softly but he couldn't wait for her reply as he lowered himself gingerly down onto the floor against the wall and opened his arms for her to join him,_"Let us sit, un-plagued by gravity."_ he said with a smile at the concession.

The Jedi's weight shifted as she took a shaky step forward, nearly collapsing as she reached a hand to him. _"I- I will sit with you.. Until we sleep, until our last breaths and the stars fall from the horizon."_She whispered back.

Looking up at her he smiled though a tiredness could be seen in his eyes the love was not diminished. _She is so beautiful_ he thought as he looked up at her with his brown eyes. She was to him an angel. Though he had seen many things in this universe both beautiful and wondrous, her beauty left them all behind, to him she was perfection. Even what others may call imperfections he saw only accents of beauty. Brushstroke of a master artist the likes of which the galaxy had never known. She was wondrous and stood before him almost glowing in the light with a pale radiance of beauty. She was to him utterly perfect and she was his.. a soldier turned hired killer turned traitor he may have been but she was his and he was hers and as he looked at her he knew he was the luckiest man to ever have walked the stars. She was a goddess who had given a mortal her love and soon they would return to where she had come.

Slowly sinking to her knees and finally settling down next to him, pulled close; she spoke softly. _"…Tell me…"_ She began quietly. _"Tell me about… That stupid droid armor you made… Again… I… I like that story…"_ She whispered, her head resting gently against his chest as she pressed close. Her hand rested there beside it, her other still trying to hold about his waist; against his back.

She felt tired… incredibly, tired. Not just physically, mentally… Bone tired. Though that would soon fade as well as a rejuvenation would come as they passed over. As she studied him, she continued to realize how much she cherished her precious warrior… How much she truly loved him. It didn't matter to her if he had fallen along the way from the Empire, it didn't matter to her if she, in the end would be a disgrace to the Ascendancy… All that mattered; was him; was them. As she listened to him, the sound of his heartbeat slowing, his breath, and his voice; lids began to fall. Her breathing becoming more shallow by the moment, a weak chuckle would escape her every now and then as she quietly talked back to him…savoring their last moments together, holding them dear. He had given her so much; her warrior- her Einherjar; her 'lone warrior'.

Embracing her he held her there for a moment and smiled as she remembered his shitty story about the failed armour set. He chuckled slightly, _"I have a better story to tell you than that Nal…"_he said sounding tired as he gently reached across to her neck and lifted something from around her, a chain came away delicately from her neck and attached to it was a ring, a simple but beautiful ring that he had gotten for her to make her his wife. That day on the phantom had felt like a millennia ago. As he held it in the hand of the arm draped around her he held it so they could both see. It glittered like the stars though a thick atmosphere, _"I'll tell you what I was going to tell you… saving to tell you on our wedding day.."_ he said as he held her close and looked at the ring with her.

Scarlet pools, once so brilliant; so luminous like a distant star were now dim… Distant as if starlight had faded; somewhere within the galaxy a star was dying as she took her last breaths. Somewhere there was peace, somewhere there was war; and admist it all- they were here… Together; breathing their whispered words of love and devotion. As he gathered the delicate chain from her neck, she drew a jagged breath; confusion writing upon the exhausted knight's features. _"Enoch…"_ She whispered his name once more; but she was too tired to argue, too tired to fight- nor did she wish to…

It was silent for a moment as the words he had gone over a million times came back to him, _"My dearest Nal… Light of my life… my eternal warmth in a galaxy that would be so cold without you. When I met you I was so far lost I knew nothing but sorrow and with you I found not just a reason to be alive but a reason to live… You have taken me from dark places and shown me a light that I thought I'd never know. You've warmed my heart and made me believe in things I thought were long dead. I have come to love you with a fire that burns brighter than a sun and when I fight it's not for peace or a cause but for you… it's always for you."_ he said, _"I come here today and I kneel before you and thank any and every god that may or may not exist and thank the force and the universe for such a woman who cares for me as much as I care for her. Something I can scarcely believe is true."_

She just wanted to hear his voice, even if it was not the story that she believed she didn't wish to hear. Though as he begun to speak once more… the silence breaking; she locked her tired eyes upon him, her hand sliding away from his back, falling to the floor behind him. Her opposite still rested against his chest. She listened, despite the cold talons that gripped her life-essence… She fought the inevitable. She had to listen to him; she had to hear these words… She could not deny him… Even through the transcendence of death; she would never deny him.

_"Nal…"_ he said breaking the chain away from the ring and letting it drop to their laps as he takes the ring in his fingers, _"I pledge to love you until the end of time and beyond. And nor stife nor d-"_struggling now his voice gives out on him as he chokes back his emotion as he held her close. Nal's voice softly cracked as her name was called; the words bringing tears freely down her pale blue cheeks.

Enoch continued; _"Nor can death sever that…. There is a poem that I hold in a tattered paper that I found long ago that always brought you close to me, even when you were far away… It to me is the love I hold for you… in the words of a poet and not of a broken warrior… You shall be my roots and I will be your shade, though the sun burns my leaves. You shall quench my thirst and I will feed you fruit, though time takes my seed. And when I'm lost and can tell nothing of this galaxy you will give me hope. And my voice you will always hear. And my hand you will always have; for I will shelter you. And I will comfort you. And even when we are nothing left, not even in death, I will remember you…. Nal… ch'ah ch'acah ven"_ and with tears streaming down his face he gently took his hand and slid the ring on her finger and held her even more tightly to him, with all the fleeting strength he had, which was little as his life was slipping away and as he sat there with her in his arms he was gone.

She would never let go of the promise, never let go of their vows; that even she would offer in return, she would never forget the poem that he softly recited on his last breaths. She held them all dear, just as she held him. Choked breaths escaped her as those last words left him, the ring; slid delicately upon her digit_. "…I promise… Unto you… I will never… Forget… Enoch… Ch-ch'ah ch'acah… ven… For all time… For eternity… Ch'eo ch'etecerci… My warrior… Enoch…"_ A soft wince left her as she felt those last tendrils of life slip from her, Enoch; falling into an eternal slumber… Nal's own force winking out like that star somewhere within the galaxy so far away… Her last breaths wisped past her lips as she too; slipped silently away within the embrace of her fading hunter.

…A soft beeping could be heard from the com unit attached to her hip… And a nondescript voice softly filled the air_. "Astra Nal, answer… Astra Nal; this is the Nova Talon… Do you read…? Do you read?"_ The voice softly droned on, but there would be no answer; no absolution; only silence as she slipped through the veil… Somewhere far away, through the breech of time itself; two souls two flickers of the Force danced among the stars.

—–

Within the dim light of early morning; a tiny blue girl quivered; shaking beneath the covers of the bed that she shared with her vumihn viziter, her errant knight. The night had been long and dark; violent and dreams flooded with suffering, with tears and emotion. Her lithe frame continued to toss and turn; fabrics thrown free from her small figure as the night wore on. Breathing became labored, softly gasping as if she felt suffocated. A searing pain made her heart ache, her entire body uncontrollably shaking.

_"Astra Nal… Do you read?"_

The words echoed within her mind as the little chiss flailed beneath the remnants of cloth that draped her figure. Suddenly, sharply with a pain so intense she shot up; an agonized scream leaving her, filling the air, tainting it. Her pupil-less eyes locked upon a fixed point within the room, as she felt herself go hoarse with the terrified cry. The form beside her suddenly jerked awake; his crystalline blue eyes searching for the room for the threat; but found none… Instead; Corlus found the scarred chiss choking back tears and sobs.

_"Aka… What is it?"_ Came the rumbling voice, concern lighting the words.

She did not answer right off as she broke down into unrestrained cries. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she babbled in cheunh, too fast for the knight to understand or grasp- other than the fact that his mate was incredibly distressed. Whatever had spooked her had led her to hysterics. Strong arms drew about the tiny form, pulling her to his broad chest. Quiet cooing sounds would leave the knight as he tried to soothe the terrified girl. Aka, did not resist, but the soft whimpers continued to leave her.

Aka could feel it… Her sister was in incredible pain, terror, mentally, physically; everything hurt. She could sense it… She could feel it. The memories seemed so real; so fantastically real that it had to be truth.

_"Etah ch'uscehah len… Etah ch'uscehah len …"_  
{They killed her… They killed her…}

_"Aka?"_

_"To ch'ahan't.. Lah carcir ch'uscehah. Etah tsan'ah len ch'itt'suvrecah ch'en…"_  
{The agent. She is dead. They took her away from me.}

_"I don't understand, slow down-" _He replied patiently, but with clear concern.

Tears and abandoned sobs continued to leave her; not seeming to understand his own words. For all that she knew at that moment; Nal and Enoch had been taken from her in that abandoned station in the loneliness of space; millions of parsecs away_._


End file.
